Apparatus for picking up and lowering a pilot at sea



May 18, 1965 B. C.-MAJOR 3,183,998

' APPARATUS FOR PIGKING UP AND LOWERING A PILOT AT SEA Filed Aug. 20', 1963 I 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 y 8, 1965 B. c. MAJOR 3,183,998

APPARATUS FOR PICKING UP AND LOWERING A PILOT AT SEA I Filed Aug. 20, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 "T w' F r J 75 J MT w 1U] Amwrop 57 nne/V675 United States Patent 62 3 Claims. (Cl. 182-93) There has always been a problem associated with the picking up and lowering of a pilot at sea and the usual practice is for the ship to lower a rope ladder up which the pilot must climb. The climb is a long one and since many experienced pilots are elderly, this can be quite exhausting and in some cases dangerous.

According to the present invention there is provided apparatus comprising at least one foot plate and a carriage for it, rollers or skids on the carriage allowing it to be moved up and down against the side of a ship and a winch and hoisting cable or the equivalent for raising the carriage and foot plate from sea level to deck level. The pivot only has to stand on the foot plate as he is pulled up by the winch and cable and his weight holds the carriage rollers against the ships side. The carriage may be provided with horizontal spreaders for preventing twisting.

Conveniently the carriage itself comprises a ladder, for example a rope ladder, about as high as a man so that when it is raised to deck level the pilot can climb up the last few feet.

In a preferred form of the apparatus, the winch is on a a frame comprising also a rigid ladder on to which the boarding pilot can step after leaving the carriage. The frame can incorporate a handrail and it can be quite simple for the pilot to move from the rope ladder comprising the carriage on to the frame.

The frame, which is conveniently transportable over the deck and can be stowed when not in use, many incorporate a platform and inner steps leading down to the deck from the platform. It may also have a rigid outer step leading up to the platform from the raised rope ladder.

The invention may be carried into practice in various ways and one embodiment will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation of a pilot ladder installation embodying the invention and in position at the side of a ship; and

FIGURE 2 is a front elevation of the installataion.

Briefly, the installation comprises a short length of rope ladder 11 comprising about nine fiat timber treads 12 supported by two vertical ropes 13 in the manner of the usual rope ladder and with an additional central rope hand grip 14 extending just throughout the length of the nine treads. At top and bottom the treads extend to form spreaders 15 co-operating with the side of the ship 16 which restrict twisting of the ladder.

Each upper side of the top tread is supported by a bracket 17 carried on a steel cable 18 extending up the side of the ship over a cable guide, exemplified by the guide roller 19 comprising a hoisting point and thence on to the drum 21 of a winch 22 which in the embodiment being described is electrically driven from the ships supply, but which can of course be driven by hydraulic, pneumatic, steam, or other mechanical means or from an electric battery or manually.

The winch 22 and the guide 19 are carried on a portable framework shown generally at 23 which can be moved on wheels 24 over the deck to the ships side when the installation is to be used.

3,183,998 Patented May 18, 1965 p ce The framework comprises a short length of fixed ladder 24 with hand rests 25 and a lower platform 26 leading over the bulwark 27 and carrying the guide roller 19. Brackets 26a and 26b affixed to the lower platform depend on opposite sides of the rail 27 or bulwark of the ship to prevent lateral shifting of the platform and the apparatus in its entirety. The upper step of the fixed ladder 24 extends to an upper platform 28 over the top of the winch 22.

When the winch is wound in, the ladder portion 11 is lifted up on the cables 18 to nearly deck level until a pilot standing on the ladder 11 can step from the highest treadto a fixed tread 29 carried by the framework 23 and extending over and outward from the bulwark 27.

In order to control movement of the ladder portion 11 up the ships side, each of the treads 12 carries a bracket 31 at each end, carrying a nylon wheel on a horizontal axle.

Each bracket 31 is forked and carries an axle 33 between the arms of the fork on which the nylon wheel 32 can run. At its inner end the bracket 31 has a horizontal flange plate 34 which is bolted to the tread 12.

The whole equipment can be stowed away when not in use but when required the frame can be rolled over the deck to the side of the ship and secured in place after which the rope ladder portion 11 can be placed over the ships side with the rollers 32 in contact with the side and then it can be lowered by use of the winch to a little above sea level. The pilot only needs to climb from his cutter on to the foot plate comprising the lowest rung of the ladder and he can stand on this holding the central hand grip near the top of the ladder portion.

As the winch winds in the cables 18 the ladder moves up the ships side carrying the pilot. The spreaders 15 prevent it from twisting and in any case the weight of the pilot tends to hold the rollers 32 in contact with the side so that his passage upwards is quite smooth.

The winch stops when the top tread 12 is a little below the tread 29 on the frame 23 and the pilot can now climb up the few treads of the ladder portion 11 until holding the handrail 25 he steps on to the tread 29 and thence steps on to the platform 28 and down the inner ladder 24 to the deck.

Thus, however high the ships side from the sea, he only has to climb ten steps. The reverse procedure is adopted when the pilot is being lowered.

There are no permanent fixtures on the ship and the equipment can be stowed out of sight when not in use.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. Apparatus for picking up and lowering a pilot at sea, comprising a foot plate, a carriage carrying the foot plate and comprising a short length of rope ladder only about the height of a man and having treads, rollers at the inner sides of each end of each tread of the ladder, a transportable frame having a rigid ladder having treads spaced apart with a vertical component onto which the boarding pilot can step, a winch carried by the frame, a cable guide supported by said frame near the top of the rigid ladder, and a hoisting cable on the winch extending over the cable guide and connected to the rope ladder for raising the rope ladder and foot plate from sea level, said cable normally supporting said rope ladder in spaced relation below said Winch.

2. Apparatus for use on a ship at sea for picking up and lowering a pilot, comprising a frame including a generally rigid and generally vertically extending ladder, the lower end of which is adapted to rest on the deck of a ship adjacent the rail of said ship, a pair of relatively vertically spaced upper and lower platforms rigidly affixed to and projecting laterally from said rigid ladder at a location substantially spaced above its lower end, the lower platform being adapted to extend horizontally across and rest upon the rail of the ship, means carried by said lower platform for engagement with the rail to position said lower platform against lateral displacement on the rail, a horizontal tread and a cable guide carried by said platforms on the side thereof remote from said rigid ladder, a winch carried by the said frame between the said platforms, a flexible hoisting cable on the Winch extending over said cable guide and depending therefrom and a carriage supported by said cable in normally spaced relation from said winch, the said carriage including a rigid horizontal foot plate carried at its lower end.

3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which the frame incorporates a platform and an outer step leading up to the platform from the raised carriage.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 10,807 4/54 Keller 18273 283,038 8/83 Stover l82198 2,629,5 3 1 2/53 Hakkarinen 18273 10 2,962,112 11/60 Ramsberger 182----107 HARRISON R. MOSELEY, Primary Examiner. 

1. APPARATUS FOR PICKING UP AND LOWERING A PILOT AT SEA, COMPRISING A FOOT PLATE, A CARRIAGE CARRYING THE FOOT PLATE AND COMPRISING A SHORT LENGTH OF ROPE LADDER ONLY ABOUT THE HEIGHT OF A MAN AND HAVING THREADS, ROLLERS AT THE INNER SIDES OF EACH END OF EACH TREAD OF THE LADDER, A TRANSPORTABLE FRAME HAVING A RIGID LADDER HAVING TREADS SPACED APART WITH A VERTICAL COMPONENT ONTO WHICH THE BOARDING PILOT CAN STEP, A WINCH CARRIED BY THE FRAME, A CABLE GUIDE SUPPORTED BY SAID FRAME NEAR THE TOP OF THE RIGID LADDER, AND A HOISTING CABLE ON THE WINCH EXTENDING OVER THE CABLE GUIDE AND CONNECTED TO THE ROPE LADDER FOR RAISING THE ROPE LADDER AND FOOT PLATE FROM SEA LEVEL, 